What are your Dreams Telling You?

Waking up with an uneasy feeling in your stomach is always disconcerting, sometimes alarming, and above all is an instinct that should never be ignored. For the especially intuitive, the knot could be an omen of things to come, but for the rest of us it’s usually a product of a restless night’s sleep, specifically, a bad dream.

Dismissing your dreams as mere figments of your imagination is a mistake especially if you are going through a tumultuous time with your partner. You may not realize it, but as you sleep, your brain is processing your problems on a deeper level. The twilight visions that play out during the wee hours can lend some very profound insight – if you are willing to listen, that is.

Are you having a reoccurring dream involving a significant other? Or perhaps you can’t shake the memory of a dream that happened weeks ago. Either way, you should wake up and pay attention. We’ve compiled a few slumberous scenarios, along with possible interpretations that may help you bridge the gap between your dreams and real life.

Possible Dream Situations: You are lost in a unfamiliar place, you keep calling someone who isn’t home, you are waiting for hours for someone to arrive.

Dream Translation: You have self-worth and power issues

What It Means: Your first instinct may point you to the literal translation of desertion, but abandonment dreaming actually points to feelings of low self-esteem. The waiting part denotes feelings of dependence and possibly a power struggle between you and your mate. Perhaps you aren’t sure about the future of your relationship, or there is some concern about the fragile balance between your relationship roles. View it as a sign to get moving and discussing so that you can identify your goals and take action.

What It Means: Something – or someone – has you feeling insecure or vulnerable. The green-eyed monster can kill relationships quick, so get it in check. Most of the time jealousy comes from the mystery of the unknown. You find yourself assuming and making up your own version of events. Instead, communicate with each other about your concerns or possible fears, and work on self-love to breed some confidence.

Possible Dream Situations: You are crying and no one seems to care, people don’t have any ears, you don’t have a mouth.

Dream Translation: You have communication difficulties.

What It Means: Dreaming that your cries fall on deaf ears represents your helplessness and frustrations in trying to communicate with others. Perhaps you are feeling that your mate isn’t listening to you. With good intentions, you may keep quiet so you seem flexible and accommodating. However, if you must constantly compromise your own opinions in any relationship, the imbalance will become more and more severe. This dream should be an indicator to speak up and get actively involved in getting your point across.

Possible Dream Situations: You appear as a child in your dreams, your loved one is a victim of a crime, someone appears larger than life.

Dream Translation: Size = power

What It Means: There’s probably an imbalance of power in your relationship. You may be scared of your significant other or what they might do, or you may think they are scared of you. The size of something represents the importance that you attach to their opinions, advice or meaning to you. It is completely natural that the power seesaw has its ups and downs, but it should eventually even out.

Possible Dream Situations: You are marrying your significant other or your ex, about to marry them, or literally tied to another person.

Dream Translation: Commitment and unity, but not necessarily romantic

What It Means: Forecasting an important transition, envisioning a marriage in your dream implies commitment or harmony. It may represent unifying the separate aspects of yourself, perhaps both professional and personal goals or masculine and feminine roles. Dreaming of a marriage is a good sign that you are blending different aspects of your life into a solution. Don’t worry if the bride or groom in your dream is your previous paramour. The former flame’s presence merely suggests that you have moved on from those well-paved footsteps and have learned from your missteps.

When decoding your dreams, consider the one feature that stands out in your memory. And remember, if happy hour lasted well into the night, you overindulged in takeout or you just watched The Shining, you may want to disqualify those dozing displays.

As your slumber companion, your dreams dip into an alternate world of psychology, memory, events and emotions. As your own personal physic advisor, your dreams embody what your subconscious is telling you. Similar to trusting your gut, these midnight head trips only mirror what you already know and may be afraid to admit.